The Supreme Court, American Eugenics, And The Sterilization Of Carrie Buck

In 1927 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Buck vBell that the state of Virginia was allowed to sterilize Carrie Buck, a young woman wrongly thought to be feeble minded. Imbecile: The Supreme Court, American Eugenics and the Sterilization of Carrie Buck by NY Times bestselling author Adam Cohen exposes the story of one of the darkest moments in American legal tradition- the Supreme Court’s decision to champion eugenic sterilization of undesirable citizens for the greater good for the country. The 8-1 ruling was signed by some of the most revered figures in American law including Chief Justice William Howard Taft, a former U.S. President and Louis Brandeis, a progressive icon. Oliver Wendell Holmes considered by many the greatest Supreme Court justice in history wrote the majority opinion.